Psychology of Judgment and Decision-Making

This course is an introduction to the scientific study of psychology of judgment and decision-making. In everyday life, judgment and decisions are often based on simplifying heuristics rather than more formal and extensive processing. Although these "mental shortcuts" typically yield accurate judgments and good decisions, they sometimes produce biased outcomes. Understanding the psychology of judgment and decision-making helps decision-makers identify their unconscious biases to optimize results. Therefore, this subject matter finds a wide range of practical applications in the fields of corporate management, marketing, social influence research, organizational behavior, social psychology, etc. For example, in workplace business processes such as recruitment and performance reviews, skilled decision-makers can mitigate their own unconscious biases which may otherwise negatively impact employee satisfaction or a company's success.

Class sessions will examine the foundational theories of the psychology of judgment and decision-making. Student will explore the application of the discipline in everyday life through scientific articles and experiments as well as reflect on the influence of heuristics and biases in the psychology of their own decisions.